In the past, millions of people from all over the world came to the United States to make a better life for themselves and their children. Not only did they fulfill that dream, they made the United States an immeasurably better place by doing so. But in the knowledge economy of the 21st century, dreams, hope and willingness to work hard are not enough. English language skills are much more important for this generation of immigrants and refugees than for their predecessors.
The problem of inadequate resources for adult English-language instruction is not a new one. However its visibility and seriousness has grown in recent years due to the need for English language programs for the immense number of immigrants and refugees that have chosen to settle in our state. When one considers that 40% of employees working in our state’s dairy industry are new arrivals from Mexico and that even small communities like Hudson and Baron have fast-growing populations of new refugees from Somalia, the immediate language needs of this growing population becomes apparent. More than one in every seven adults in Wisconsin is now foreign-born.
Until now, most professional development opportunities or academic courses on this critical subject have been targeted exclusively toward K – 12 education. That’s why Edgewood College’s CTELL Programs for adult educators is so unique.
Connecting Teachers to English Language Learners (CTELL) is designed to give teachers/tutors of adult ELLs in Wisconsin access to professional development and graduate coursework in the broad scope of instructional, linguistic and social issues faced by their ELL students. The program offers adult education practitioners the opportunity to win scholarship-supported tuition through it’s 1.5 million dollar grant from the Office of English Language Acquisition, resulting in each course costing only $300 per credit.
2013 marks the inauguration of this important expansion of the CTELL program into a cohort specifically for adult educators. Participants may opt to use the two three-credit graduate coursework as a professional development sequence, or use them as a foundation for a Masters in Adult Education.
The 2013 K-12 CTELL program is now full. The application period for 2014 will open in October, 2013
Questions about any portion of the CTELL program, please contact, John Kibler, OELA Professional Development Coordinator at jkibler@edgewood.edu or 608-663-2287.